Most Popular Baby Names of 1981
In 1981, Jennifer (57,048 births) was the most common U.S. girl name and Michael (68,759 births) the most common boy name.
Top 100 boy names of 1981
| Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 68,759 |
| 2 | Christopher | 50,221 |
| 3 | Matthew | 43,328 |
| 4 | Jason | 41,928 |
| 5 | David | 40,633 |
| 6 | Joshua | 39,027 |
| 7 | James | 38,289 |
| 8 | John | 34,872 |
| 9 | Robert | 34,397 |
| 10 | Daniel | 30,989 |
| 11 | Joseph | 30,764 |
| 12 | Justin | 27,308 |
| 13 | Ryan | 26,814 |
| 14 | Brian | 26,582 |
| 15 | William | 24,801 |
| 16 | Jonathan | 22,593 |
| 17 | Eric | 20,715 |
| 18 | Andrew | 20,234 |
| 19 | Brandon | 20,205 |
| 20 | Adam | 20,042 |
| 21 | Nicholas | 19,777 |
| 22 | Jeremy | 19,111 |
| 23 | Anthony | 18,574 |
| 24 | Timothy | 18,228 |
| 25 | Kevin | 17,456 |
| 26 | Thomas | 17,160 |
| 27 | Richard | 16,855 |
| 28 | Steven | 16,484 |
| 29 | Jeffrey | 15,932 |
| 30 | Aaron | 14,692 |
| 31 | Charles | 14,428 |
| 32 | Benjamin | 14,361 |
| 33 | Mark | 13,544 |
| 34 | Scott | 12,721 |
| 35 | Paul | 11,778 |
| 36 | Nathan | 11,258 |
| 37 | Jesse | 10,444 |
| 38 | Patrick | 10,384 |
| 39 | Stephen | 10,302 |
| 40 | Travis | 10,109 |
| 41 | Kenneth | 9,473 |
| 42 | Dustin | 9,353 |
| 43 | Jacob | 9,345 |
| 44 | Sean | 8,892 |
| 45 | Jose | 8,773 |
| 46 | Gregory | 8,758 |
| 47 | Chad | 8,413 |
| 48 | Bryan | 7,215 |
| 49 | Shawn | 7,076 |
| 50 | Bradley | 6,896 |
| 51 | Edward | 6,661 |
| 52 | Kyle | 6,571 |
| 53 | Derek | 6,481 |
| 54 | Samuel | 6,037 |
| 55 | Peter | 5,999 |
| 56 | Donald | 5,911 |
| 57 | Jared | 5,865 |
| 58 | Keith | 5,621 |
| 59 | Ronald | 5,538 |
| 60 | Juan | 5,500 |
| 61 | George | 5,159 |
| 62 | Gary | 4,947 |
| 63 | Zachary | 4,846 |
| 64 | Douglas | 4,788 |
| 65 | Joel | 4,540 |
| 66 | Phillip | 4,539 |
| 67 | Marcus | 4,509 |
| 68 | Raymond | 4,367 |
| 69 | Corey | 4,247 |
| 70 | Alexander | 4,236 |
| 71 | Carlos | 4,182 |
| 72 | Craig | 4,095 |
| 73 | Larry | 3,954 |
| 74 | Todd | 3,953 |
| 75 | Antonio | 3,926 |
| 76 | Erik | 3,922 |
| 77 | Jeremiah | 3,896 |
| 78 | Derrick | 3,850 |
| 79 | Brett | 3,775 |
| 80 | Nathaniel | 3,719 |
| 81 | Shane | 3,711 |
| 82 | Frank | 3,640 |
| 83 | Dennis | 3,634 |
| 84 | Philip | 3,581 |
| 85 | Casey | 3,518 |
| 86 | Shaun | 3,383 |
| 87 | Gabriel | 3,373 |
| 88 | Lucas | 3,372 |
| 89 | Brent | 3,370 |
| 90 | Cory | 3,355 |
| 91 | Luis | 3,343 |
| 91 | Randy | 3,343 |
| 93 | Jeffery | 3,335 |
| 94 | Curtis | 3,198 |
| 95 | Seth | 3,137 |
| 96 | Tyler | 3,117 |
| 97 | Jerry | 3,056 |
| 98 | Russell | 3,048 |
| 99 | Wesley | 3,042 |
| 100 | Luke | 3,015 |
Top 100 girl names of 1981
| Rank | Name | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer | 57,048 |
| 2 | Jessica | 42,532 |
| 3 | Amanda | 34,373 |
| 4 | Sarah | 28,174 |
| 5 | Melissa | 28,005 |
| 6 | Amy | 20,344 |
| 7 | Nicole | 20,311 |
| 8 | Stephanie | 20,213 |
| 9 | Elizabeth | 20,169 |
| 10 | Heather | 17,946 |
| 11 | Michelle | 17,782 |
| 12 | Rebecca | 16,737 |
| 13 | Kimberly | 16,689 |
| 14 | Tiffany | 16,416 |
| 15 | Angela | 15,926 |
| 16 | Crystal | 15,888 |
| 17 | Christina | 14,392 |
| 18 | Lisa | 14,295 |
| 19 | Erin | 13,853 |
| 20 | Amber | 13,813 |
| 21 | Laura | 13,291 |
| 22 | Rachel | 12,590 |
| 23 | Kelly | 11,873 |
| 24 | Andrea | 11,685 |
| 25 | April | 11,405 |
| 26 | Sara | 11,358 |
| 27 | Mary | 11,043 |
| 28 | Jamie | 10,982 |
| 29 | Emily | 10,799 |
| 30 | Danielle | 10,039 |
| 31 | Kristin | 9,737 |
| 32 | Shannon | 9,227 |
| 33 | Megan | 8,966 |
| 34 | Ashley | 8,874 |
| 35 | Lauren | 8,813 |
| 36 | Erica | 8,624 |
| 37 | Julie | 8,568 |
| 38 | Kristen | 8,541 |
| 39 | Katherine | 8,433 |
| 40 | Maria | 7,683 |
| 41 | Brandy | 6,897 |
| 42 | Christine | 6,854 |
| 43 | Courtney | 6,638 |
| 44 | Katie | 6,600 |
| 45 | Tara | 6,366 |
| 46 | Alicia | 5,855 |
| 47 | Lindsay | 5,843 |
| 48 | Kathryn | 5,823 |
| 49 | Monica | 5,782 |
| 50 | Brandi | 5,527 |
| 51 | Samantha | 5,517 |
| 52 | Brooke | 5,330 |
| 53 | Patricia | 5,284 |
| 54 | Anna | 5,192 |
| 55 | Carrie | 5,093 |
| 56 | Leslie | 4,934 |
| 57 | Allison | 4,905 |
| 58 | Lindsey | 4,863 |
| 59 | Cynthia | 4,859 |
| 59 | Natalie | 4,859 |
| 61 | Misty | 4,799 |
| 62 | Vanessa | 4,749 |
| 63 | Holly | 4,564 |
| 64 | Karen | 4,539 |
| 65 | Stacy | 4,479 |
| 66 | Melanie | 4,474 |
| 67 | Jacqueline | 4,336 |
| 68 | Veronica | 4,313 |
| 69 | Latoya | 4,266 |
| 70 | Dana | 4,246 |
| 71 | Susan | 4,244 |
| 72 | Kristina | 4,060 |
| 73 | Catherine | 4,056 |
| 74 | Sandra | 4,036 |
| 75 | Diana | 3,971 |
| 76 | Pamela | 3,882 |
| 77 | Tracy | 3,869 |
| 78 | Jill | 3,857 |
| 79 | Dawn | 3,839 |
| 80 | Tina | 3,820 |
| 81 | Leah | 3,808 |
| 82 | Kathleen | 3,776 |
| 83 | Stacey | 3,754 |
| 84 | Heidi | 3,738 |
| 85 | Natasha | 3,730 |
| 86 | Candice | 3,698 |
| 87 | Victoria | 3,689 |
| 88 | Julia | 3,668 |
| 89 | Valerie | 3,611 |
| 90 | Wendy | 3,608 |
| 91 | Lori | 3,479 |
| 92 | Tanya | 3,408 |
| 93 | Erika | 3,398 |
| 94 | Kristy | 3,263 |
| 95 | Katrina | 3,258 |
| 96 | Denise | 3,201 |
| 97 | Teresa | 3,122 |
| 98 | Renee | 2,997 |
| 99 | Christy | 2,943 |
| 99 | Theresa | 2,943 |
Biggest movers since 1980
Names with at least 500 births in both years, by percent change in births.
| Name | Births 1980 | Births 1981 | Change | Rank 1980 → 1981 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan | 1,620 | 2,924 | +80% | 160 → 102 |
| Brandon | 14,162 | 20,205 | +43% | 31 → 19 |
| Mitchell | 1,521 | 1,969 | +29% | 164 → 140 |
| Alexander | 3,280 | 4,236 | +29% | 91 → 70 |
| Jesse | 8,376 | 10,444 | +25% | 45 → 37 |
| Mathew | 1,334 | 1,627 | +22% | 183 → 165 |
| Johnathan | 1,409 | 1,712 | +22% | 174 → 158 |
| Evan | 1,624 | 1,972 | +21% | 159 → 139 |
| Brett | 3,128 | 3,775 | +21% | 96 → 79 |
| Jonathan | 18,988 | 22,593 | +19% | 21 → 16 |
| Name | Births 1980 | Births 1981 | Change | Rank 1980 → 1981 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erik | 4,914 | 3,922 | -20% | 64 → 76 |
| Brad | 2,371 | 1,958 | -17% | 116 → 143 |
| Jamie | 2,845 | 2,356 | -17% | 105 → 118 |
| Chad | 10,142 | 8,413 | -17% | 39 → 47 |
| Shane | 4,367 | 3,711 | -15% | 69 → 81 |
| Shaun | 3,923 | 3,383 | -14% | 79 → 86 |
| Jason | 48,166 | 41,928 | -13% | 3 → 4 |
| Marc | 2,311 | 2,047 | -11% | 119 → 134 |
| Troy | 2,832 | 2,512 | -11% | 106 → 114 |
| Derek | 7,241 | 6,481 | -10% | 50 → 53 |
| Name | Births 1980 | Births 1981 | Change | Rank 1980 → 1981 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latoya | 2,506 | 4,266 | +70% | 123 → 69 |
| Diana | 2,615 | 3,971 | +52% | 118 → 75 |
| Lindsey | 3,386 | 4,863 | +44% | 91 → 58 |
| Cassandra | 2,109 | 2,855 | +35% | 138 → 104 |
| Lindsay | 4,353 | 5,843 | +34% | 71 → 47 |
| Kristin | 7,701 | 9,737 | +26% | 37 → 31 |
| Jillian | 1,650 | 2,079 | +26% | 171 → 137 |
| Victoria | 2,930 | 3,689 | +26% | 103 → 87 |
| Jessica | 33,923 | 42,532 | +25% | 3 → 2 |
| Candice | 3,012 | 3,698 | +23% | 99 → 86 |
| Name | Births 1980 | Births 1981 | Change | Rank 1980 → 1981 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krista | 2,531 | 1,848 | -27% | 121 → 153 |
| Tracy | 4,969 | 3,869 | -22% | 56 → 77 |
| Christy | 3,673 | 2,943 | -20% | 83 → 99 |
| Kristy | 4,059 | 3,263 | -20% | 78 → 94 |
| Mindy | 2,262 | 1,827 | -19% | 131 → 154 |
| Cheryl | 2,609 | 2,116 | -19% | 119 → 134 |
| Beth | 2,848 | 2,310 | -19% | 106 → 125 |
| Tammy | 3,134 | 2,586 | -17% | 96 → 117 |
| Suzanne | 2,103 | 1,776 | -16% | 139 → 161 |
| Donna | 2,009 | 1,700 | -15% | 144 → 167 |